I watched about five or six episodes of Darker than Black before being stopping. It had a seemingly engaging overall plot, but the two-episode arcs really didn't hold my interest. So I'm glad to see that this sequel series seems (*three word alliteration combo*) to be a very different kind of anime altogether.
First off, although obviously destined to focus on Japan, this episode at least is set in Russia, which is a welcome change of location for an anime series. The main character this time round is an ordinary person rather than a super-powered bad-ass, and she's surprisingly likeable. It's very hard to find female anime characters who are more than otaku bait these days outside of shojou series, so I'll take anything I can get.
Even more intrugingly, the super-powered bad ass from the previous series is a villain. Like I said, I didn't watch Darker Than Black to the end so I don't know whether I should be surprised that Hei is a bad guy this time round (or is he? Maybe he's working for the good guys and the people he kills here are evil, or this is one of them Moral Ambiguity shows. I'm really not sure). At the moment I have enough background information to tell what's going on vis a vis the contractors and their super-power OCD, but my ability to enjoy this series will depend on whether that's enough to get me through.
One thing I remember about the original Darker than Black was the fight scenes. This episode ends on a short but sweet one featuring some really smooth animation and camera tricks. Plus two characters get mercilessly bumped off, both of whom I had already grown to like. Always a plus.
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